[I knew it—where did Second Brother go? Turns out he already ran off last night.]
[It has to be Jun Bai. Normally, NPCs just dump everything on us—never think they have other family or friends who could help.]
[Does this holiday have another name—statutory holiday?]
[But only getting New Year's Eve off feels a bit too close to reality? Seeing this gave me PTSD.]
[People get New Year's Eve off because their work and hometown are in the same city—one holiday and they're straight home.]
[But you, my friend—you only get New Year's Eve off because your life still depends on your boss's mood.]
Ning Yao smiled faintly and said: "Of course, Paimon."
"You should know—even Lord Ziwei and his deputy start their holiday on this day, let alone the manager and chefs of a small restaurant."
Hearing this, Paimon froze as if petrified.
Understandable—after all, if the chefs were on holiday, that meant no signature Fengdeng Lou dishes for the entire Lantern Rite period.
To Paimon, this was simply a nightmare more terrifying than Osial or Chi showing up in her face.
"Ning Yao, I've already explained everything clearly to the Marshal." Chen Yuan walked over, now changed into casual clothes.
He first looked at Ning Yao, then nodded in greeting to Lumine and Paimon: "We meet again, you two."
"Mm, happy holiday." Lumine smiled.
Chen Yuan smiled and nodded, then looked at Ning Yao: "Let's go."
"Alright."
Ning Yao followed behind Chen Yuan and walked out of Fengdeng Lou.
[Husband sings, wife follows.jpg]
[Did I miss something? Was there plot saying they're married? I don't remember!]
[Even if they're not married yet, this vibe feels like wedding invitations and banquet are coming soon.]
"Lumine, Paimon—you're here."
After the two managers left, Jun Bai came to Lumine and Paimon's side.
"Looks like we came at just the right time—caught the boss giving the managers a holiday." Lumine smiled.
"That's pretty rare—usually that's Paimon's line."
[Official roast.]
[Compared to Kiana in Honkai 3rd, or even other playable characters, the protagonist's voiced lines are really few.]
(Already having voice lines is good enough! The original version we played didn't even have voices!)
[After all, there's Paimon as the external vocal organ.]
Jun Bai looked at the listless Paimon and said: "Uh, is Paimon in a bit of a weird state?"
"Because the chefs are on holiday." Lumine summed it up concisely.
"Got it." Jun Bai instantly understood.
As someone who was already a veteran player before transmigrating, Jun Bai naturally knew Paimon's appetite was huge—but only after meeting Paimon in person would one realize...
Her obsession with food far exceeded what was shown in the game.
"Paimon, don't be too sad." Jun Bai patted Paimon's head. "Even though the chefs are on holiday, I won't let visiting friends go hungry."
"..." Paimon looked up. "Really?"
"Of course. By my calculations, Yiya and Second Brother should be back soon." Jun Bai smiled.
"Eeya!"
Just as he spoke, Yiya rushed in from the door, crashed into Jun Bai's arms, then turned to greet Lumine and Paimon.
[Your little cutie suddenly appears.]
[It's only been a day, but it feels like forever—baby come here let mama cuddle!]
"Yiya, hello."
Lumine immediately reached out and ruffled Yiya's little head.
Jun Mo Li followed right behind and said: "Third Brother, I bought all the ingredients on the list and put them in Yiya's clothes."
Yiya's clothes were the feather garment once worn by young Jun Bai and Ganyu—a portable inner realm.
"Ingredients?" Paimon latched onto the keyword—her previously lifeless eyes instantly lit up.
"Eeya!" (Here)
Yiya jumped down from Jun Bai's arms, reached into her feather garment, and pulled out a large bag of ingredients, placing it on the ground.
"Good thing Guili Assembly and Liyue Harbor have two different sets of laws—otherwise, with everyone on holiday in Guili Assembly, buying these ingredients would have been really hard."
As Jun Mo Li spoke, he tossed a bag of Mora to Jun Bai: "This is the Mora left after buying the ingredients."
Jun Bai directly handed the bag to Yiya: "Here—your pocket money."
"Eeya." (Thank you, brother.)
[Ah Bai, you're being a bit stingy.]
[Give more—look how thin the baby is.]
"Paimon, don't be sad." Jun Bai comforted. "New Year's Eve holiday is tradition, and eating reunion dinner is also tradition. So you won't go hungry."
"It's just that my cooking might not be as good as Fengdeng Lou's chefs."
"Huh? You mean you're cooking personally, Jun Bai?" Paimon was so shocked she forgot to be sad.
Jun Bai nodded: "Not just me—Yiya too."
Yiya put her hands on her hips: "Eeya!" (And me)
Jun Mo Li raised his hand: "And me. New Year's Eve family reunion dinner made by hand—this is also tradition."
[Oh right! There's the custom of the whole family eating reunion dinner on New Year's Eve.]
[Feels like it's been forever since the family ate reunion dinner together on New Year's Eve. Maybe I'll go back next year.]
"Ah? This is too embarrassing." Paimon felt a bit awkward hearing this.
"Need help? I think my skills can at least assist." Lumine felt she couldn't just wait to mooch food like Paimon.
"Asking guests to help isn't Liyue's way of hospitality." Jun Bai said. "If you really want to help, then please help receive the friends who will arrive later—or rather, guests."
"More people are coming?" Paimon asked.
"Of course—little Paimon didn't think the reunion dinner would just be the five of us, right?" Jun Bai asked with a smile.
"Speaking of which, Jun Bai—what does 'reunion dinner' mean?"
Paimon suddenly asked curiously.
At this question, Jun Bai and Jun Mo Li both fell silent simultaneously.
[Don't bring up the painful topic!]
[There are only five people here—can they really form a family for reunion dinner?]
[Jun Bai, Jun Mo Li, Yiya—exactly a family reunion, so they can have reunion dinner.]
[High EQ: Perfect family reunion—actually this family only has two people, and one of them counts their clone.]
"Reunion dinner—in Guili Assembly tradition—is the whole family happily gathering together for dinner."